Rebecca Rook

RebeccaRook

Ms. Rook graduated from Seattle University School of Law Cum Laude in 2011 and joined Youman, Madeo, & Fasano, LLP in 2015 where she is representing clients in a variety of areas within immigration law.

I. Court Admissions and Areas of Practice

Ms. Rook is licensed to practice law in New York and is a member of the New York State Bar Association and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Her area of practice is in Provisional Waivers and in Immigration and Nationality Law before Immigration Courts and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

II. Background

Prior to joining the firm as an Associate, Ms. Rook worked as a Contract Attorney for Youman, Madeo, & Fasano, LLP writing Provisional Waiver Briefs. Ms. Rook has also worked as a contract attorney for another firm for which she has written several asylum appeal briefs to the Board of Immigration Appeals. She also worked in the Domestic Violence Clinic while in law school where she represented a survivor of domestic violence on a U-Visa Petition. Also, Ms. Rook has drafted several EB-1 Petitions and National Interest Waiver Petitions.

Ms. Rook brings to the firm a variety of experience, especially in the area of human rights. To illustrate, she worked on the Research Team at the Kenya Truth Justice & Reconciliation Commission where she researched various human rights abuses and submitted reports that were then utilized by the Commissioners. Ms. Rook was also pivotal in the Commission’s ability to gain a mandate extension because she drafted an argument based on a comparative analysis of how much time other truth commissions needed to effectively complete their mandate. Also for the Commission, Ms. Rook conducted field investigations during which she interviewed victims and witnesses of human rights abuses and summarized her findings in reports submitted to the Commissioners.

She also has experience in the policy arena from when she worked in the International Human Rights Clinic and provided technical support to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights. Ms. Rook studied the Commission’s case law identifying trends of cases that have been brought before the Commission, and she analyzed the Commission’s jurisprudence regarding those trends. She also reviewed investigators’ human rights reports and predicted future trends of cases that will be brought before the Commission. Based on her findings, she drafted a portion of a larger policy memorandum in which she made strategic policy recommendations to the Commission regarding its cooperation with the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Ms. Rook also brings knowledge of criminal law from her time at the Missouri State Public Defender Office where she conducted research on behalf of other attorneys regarding the potential impact various convictions have on an immigrant’s status.

Outside the legal field, Ms. Rook as extensive experience in social work from when she worked as an Intake Counselor at the Saint Louis Crisis Nursery and provided case management services to families in crisis. That work is applicable to her current work because she is able to understand the comprehensive various needs an individual might have and is then able to develop a strategy through which those needs can be met. She is well-equipped at proving holistic representation to her clients. Through her eclectic experience and travels, as well as her own personal experiences, Ms. Rook has been able to connect with individuals and to understand them. She then utilizes that connection and understanding to zealously advocate for each of her clients.

III. Dedication to Immigration Law

Ms. Rook’s interest in immigration law sparked when she worked at the Tibetan Refugee Center in Nepal and observed the heartrending conditions in which the refugees were forced to live. Not only were they subjected to poor living conditions at the Center, but they overcame insurmountable odds in order to reach the Center. Ms. Rook also witnessed an overall abandonment by the international community of the refugees because the medical clinic was ill-equipped to meet the various medical needs, because there were no organizations assisting with medical care, and because although she saw U.N vehicles, she never saw a U.N. staff person assisting the refugees. Her experience at the Tibetan Refugee Center struck a core in Ms. Rook because she believes that no human should be abused and that those who need help should not be abandoned. At that moment, she decided to dedicate her career to advocating for those who were fighting their way into a better life.

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The law firm of Youman, Madeo & Fasano, LLP, serves the immigrant community surrounding New York City, including the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx and Staten Island. We serve clients on Long Island and in the New Jersey cities of in Patchogue, Union City, Hoboken, Jersey City and North Bergen. We draw inquiries from people living and working in New York County, Bronx County, Queens County, Kings County, Richmond County, Nassau County and Suffolk County; and in New Jersey's Hudson County, Essex County and Bergen.